The invention concerns an improved wheel cover locking device adapted to prevent unwanted removal of a wheel cover from an automotive vehicle wheel.
The invention is particularly useful in protecting an ornamental wheel cover which can be secured to protect the axle hub of a vehicle wheel. The invention is adaptable for any type of wheel cover, however, and for wheels of different diameters.
In the past a special lock has been marketed for securing an ornamental wire basket type wheel cover to a vehicle wheel, consisting of a partly spherical cup-shaped member having a specially designed bolt extending therethrough, replacing the manufacturer's standard wheel cover cap. The head of such a bolt is provided with an individually configured slotted head to be tightened and removed only by use of a specially designed key. This device however could not be readily adapted for general use with other kinds of wheel covers, since vehicles generally have no lock bolt receptacle on either the wheel or axle hub.